HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE is a silent problem — you won’t know you have it unless your health care provider checks your BP . However, a one-off BP reading which is high does not mean that you have high BP or hypertension. Your BP varies throughout the day. It may be high for a short time if you are anxious, stressed or have just been exercising
High blood pressure is a risk factor for developing a cardiovascular disease (such as a heart attack or stroke) and kidney damage, sometime in the future. If you have high BP , over the years it may have a damaging effect to arteries and put a strain on your heart. Diabetes plus high BP is a particularly strong combination of risk factors. Some other complications of diabetes are more common if you have high BP i.e. diabetic #retinopathy (damage to the back of the eye) and diabetic #nephropathy (kidney damage related to diabetes).
Here
are Lifestyle risk factors you need to prevent or
change:
-Smoking.
-Lack of physical activity (Enda
Gym!).
-Obesity.
-An unhealthy diet.
-Excess
alcohol.
-Have a low salt intake
-Foods/fats High in
cholesterol
Here’s what the numbers mean:
-Healthy BP : below 120/80
-Early high BP : between 120/80 and 140/90
-High BP : 140/90 or higher
Your doctor will carry out some blood and urine tests, and ask questions about your health to determine your risk of other problems:
-if your BP is consistently above 140/90mmHg (or 135/85mmHg at home) but your risk of other problems is low – you’ll be advised to make some changes to your lifestyle
-if your BP is consistently above 140/90mmHg (or 135/85mmHg at home) and your risk of other problems is high – you’ll be offered medication to lower your blood pressure, in addition to lifestyle changes
-if your blood pressure is consistently above 160/100mmHg – you’ll be offered medication to lower your blood pressure, in addition to lifestyle changes
Medication for high blood pressure
Several medications can be used to help control high blood pressure. Many people need to take a combination of different medicines.
The medication recommended for you at first will depend on your age and ethnicity:
-if
you’re under 55 years of age – you’ll usually be offered an ACE
inhibitor or an angiotensin-2 receptor blocker (ARB)
-if you’re
aged 55 or older, or you’ll usually be offered a calcium channel
blocker
You may need to take blood pressure medication for the rest of your life. But your doctor might be able to reduce or stop your treatment if your blood pressure stays under control for several years.